I've heard it said that white is a color. Meaning, we need to rethink the fact that if race is not named in a story, it's assumed the writer and the characters are white. But if the character is a person of color, then that color is named, right? Why not name whiteness so that …
Don’t Be Afraid to Suck
I'm working on a piece for Grub Street on how to stay motivated while working on a long term creative project -- in my case, a novel. That, too, isn't happening overnight, but it's coming. Meantime, for your viewing and #MondayMotivation pleasure, here's Junot Diaz on developing a tolerance for imperfection in your own writing. …
Reading and Writing Weather
As I write this, the snow is bombing the East Coast where I live. My cat is curled up in my lap, positioned in the beneficent path of the space heater at my feet. Slate coated juncos, black capped chickadees, yellow bellied woodpeckers, mourning doves, and (of course) gray and red squirrels are swarming the …
Revise, revise, revise
There are no shortcuts in writing...
Writing When The World Is Burning
It literally is. Burning. And here I type these words that are not water on the woods. Are not a hose. Etc. and onward. So why write? I spend a handful of paragraphs on that at Grub Street's blog in advance of the Writing About Politics workshop I'm leading there Sat, Nov 4 in Boston. …
2 Readings & A Workshop
Speaking truth to power. I don't know if Sage College audiences are indeed the power I'd shake a fist at, but that is the theme of The REV Presents reading series this fall at their Troy, NY campus. Asked by beloved poet and friend Matt Klane, I'll be reading with also beloved poet and friend …
Women in Translation Month
In honor of #WITmonth, here's a list of a few interviews and reviews I've done that feature women writers whose work has been translated into English. The campaign was founded by Meytal Radzinski in 2014 to deal with the dearth of women writers in translation. You can read more about it and the events it's spawned …
